Top of the Morning: World Bank Chief Sets New Global Poverty Goal; African Leaders To Hold Big Meeting on CAR

Top stories from DAWNS Digest.

World Bank Chief Sets New Global Poverty Goal

The speech marks an important policy statement by the Bank. “World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Tuesday called for a commitment by the international community to end extreme poverty by 2030 and to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people living in developing countries. To reach that goal, Kim said the world would have to reduce the number of people living below the poverty line of $1.25 per day to 3 percent globally by 2030, and raise the per capita incomes of the bottom 40 percent of every developing country. The 3 percent target marks a new goal for the World Bank, which did not provide directly comparable numbers for the current rate of extreme poverty.” (AlertNet http://bit.ly/XIA90y)

African Leaders To Hold Big Meeting on CAR

Coup leaders in the Central African Republic are under AU sanctions as the situation in the country grows increasingly unstable. South Africa is taking a leading role in driving the African response to the coup. “Regional leaders in the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) plan to meet Wednesday in Chad’s capital, Ndjamena, to discuss the restoration of constitutional order in the Central African Republic (CAR)…’Our interest is to come out of this meeting with a clear way forward of how the region, and the African Union, are going to respond to the development in the Central African Republic,’ said [South African Foreign Minister] Monyela.” (Voice of America http://bit.ly/XIkaPZ)